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Administrative law judges oversee government agencies and make decisions for which the agency is responsible. They resolve disputes and interpret legislation, and function as leaders within the agency. They clarify legislation and determine whether actions fall under the definition of unlawful discrimination.
An administrative law judge is a judge who oversees an administrative agency and makes decisions for which the agency is responsible. When the federal government or state governments create certain programs, they also create agencies to oversee some of those programs and be responsible for enforcing laws, resolving disputes, and interpreting legislation. Examples of such agencies include the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Workers Compensation System, and the Environmental Protection Agency. An administrative law judge works in these agencies to resolve disputes or interpret the law.
Administrative law is the branch of US law that regulates government agencies. Each agency is vested with power by the government that creates it. In other words, the government delegates certain powers to the agency and can also determine the appropriate structure of the particular agency.
If the administrative agency has to interpret laws or resolve disputes, someone or a group of people needs to be in charge of doing this. The government can specify who is in charge of mediating disputes, deciding on issues and/or interpreting the meaning of laws. Alternatively, the agency can establish its own internal governance structure.
Often, regardless of who created the specific structure, the relevant administrative body will have one more administrative law judge. An administrative law judge will function as a leader within the agency. When people violate laws that the agency is designed to protect, or when there is a problem with the meaning of one of those laws, the case will be argued before the administrative law judge.
For example, if you have a dispute with your employer’s insurance company over a worker’s compensation claim, in many jurisdictions the Workers’ Compensation Board is vested with the authority to oversee that dispute. Some states have a panel of one or more people to hear the discussion between the injured employee and the insurance company. Other states assign the case to an administrative law judge, who will hear arguments from both sides and determine whether they are right.
If there is a doubt about the meaning of a law that an agency has the authority to enforce, the administrative law judge will also address that concern and clarify the legislation. For example, equal opportunity laws prohibit discrimination. An administrative law judge on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission board may hear cases where it is unclear whether an employer’s actions fall under the definition of unlawful discrimination. The administrative law judge can make a decision and interpret the law to determine whether discrimination was prohibited.
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